Timeline of Night Vale and Desert Bluffs
This page details the timeline of Night Vale and Desert Bluffs, using as many references to Welcome to Night Vale episodes as possible. Ancient Times * Before Time Began ** The gods are born in the mudwomb, a place with no action or intention, waiting for the world to beginEpisode 109, A Story About Huntokar. * Ages Before First Humans Appeared ** The Woman from Italy dips her hand in the stars, running her finger through the great glowing coils of the universe. ** The Distant Prince explores every far cave and hole, all of the dark places. ** The Glow Cloud changes colors and drops animals, long before the first animals were born. ** Huntokar sits cross-legged in a lake for 10,000 years. Early history * The Mesozoic Era ** The area that will eventually house Night Vale is inhabited by a flock of pteranodons. Some of them travel through a rift in time to modern-day Night Vale, though all but one are safely returnedEpisode 4 PTA Meeting. * 4000 BC ** Earliest human settlement of Night Vale. Some cave paintings remain of settlements and the "inhuman, shimmering shapes that never came closer or went farther away" and watched these ancient settlers from far away (according to Cecil). The original discoverer of the cave paintings tried to power wash them off the falls, as for religious reasons he did not believe in the past.Episode 7 History Week ** Huntokar chooses Night Vale as her domain. * Centuries before 2013, Night Vale Community Radio is founded by "mysterious, unseen forces." 18th century * Before *1745: for his 15th birthday, Cecil Gershwin Palmer is gifted a microphone set, which he uses to record pastiche Night Vale Community Radio shows, modeled after the shows by the host of the time, Leonard Burton. Cecil's ambition is not unseen, as he is invited to intern at Night Vale Community Radio.Episode 33 Cassette ** *As of episode 106, It is becoming more apparent that Cecil Gershwin Palmer may have served his internship in the early 1980's, with the finding of his ID and Cecil's description of himself. * 1745 ** The future site of Night Vale and Desert Bluffs is not yet more than a large, featureless desert. Groups of settlers visit the future site of Night Vale, but only one elects to stay. Lee Marvin announces the foundation of the city of Night Vale, "complete with all the things a home needs: secrets, dread, omnipresent government, and areas that are forbidden!"Episode 67 Best Of? Early settlers included peace-loving imperialist conquerors and religious leaders who wore "soft meats crowns" made of inverted organs strung around the head, and were supported by Huntokar, the god creator of the city of Night Vale. * After the foundation of the USA, the Faceless Old Woman comes to America in an attempt to find answers to a long ago betrayal. 19th century * 1824 ** First meeting of Town Elder Council, later to become the City Council. All records of this meeting are destroyed. * 1843 ** Death of Lucia Tereschenko, who now haunts the Haunted Baseball Diamond.Episode 61 BRINY DEPTHS The Sheriff of Night Vale is described as wearing a welding mask and a cowboy hat.Episode 84 Past Time * 1875 ** A bronze statue is erected in honor of the actor Lee Marvin.Episode 36 Missing * ca. 1895 ** Cecil Palmer visits Europe.Cecil recounts his meeting with Guglielmo Marconi after the latter had invented radio, but before radio was widely known. Marconi's first working prototype was constructed over the summer of 1895. 20th century * 1934 ** New Years Eve: Night Vale celebrates its prosperity and the "Sparklingly Clean Thirties" with a swimming pool full of champagne. * ca. 1942 ** Cecil Palmer becomes the full-time host at Night Vale Community Radio, following the retirement of Leonard Burton.Cecil's first broadcast as host is during World War II, and mentions that America has recently been attacked. The attack on Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941, is the most logical referent. * 1943 ** For the war effort, Night Vale citizens chant around bloodstones for the victory of the United States in World War II. A federal lawsuit later requires Night Vale to take down its 7-story monument to Night Vale's contributions to the War Effort. * 1950s ** Night Vale is visited by genderless future humans using time travel technology, which is subsequently outlawed.Episode 43 Visitor * 1952 ** Danielle DuBois is the current mayor of Night Vale. She writes a poem in honour of nothing that should never not be unknown, Later, in her honor, a monolith in place of the future dog park is erected.Episode 20 Poetry Week * 1970s ** Dr. Erless Bedermayer constructed the Emergency Fundraising-Related Disaster Bunker for Night Vale Community College. * 1980s ** Paul Birmingham begins his community activism by spending most of the 80s advocating for the legalization of oregano.Episode 83 One Normal Town * 1983 ** The 1983 Earthquake Dust Fire occursEpisode 10 Feral Dogs. ** The world in on the brink of nuclear war, caused from mistakenly launched missiles. ** Huntokar attempts to remove Night Vale off the world, and thus shatters reality and makes different worlds merge and collide. ** Night Vale's pen pals from Nulogorsk, Night Vale's sister city, stop changing the dates on their letters and presumably get stuck in 1983Episode 40 The Deft Bowman or are being decimated in the war. ** The September 24th issue of the Night Vale Daily Journal, as brought in the submarine from Nulogorsk, has an article with the headline "Sister City Nulogorsk Decimated By Nuclear Attack - No Known Survivors". The Night Vale copy of the same issue has a different front page article, probably because the submarine came from another worldEpisode 40 The Deft Bowman. * ca. 1983 ** The City Council abolishes the Summer Reading Program.Episode 28 Summer Reading Program * 1984 ** Simone Rigadeau announces that her reality has split. She closes down the Earth Sciences Department at Night Vale Community College in order to devote herself to better understanding it. ** A fundraiser is held to benefit the Old Night Vale Opera House. * 1985 ** The Old Night Vale Opera House is abandoned after an uncontrolled puppy infestation renders the building unsafe.Episode 32 Yellow Helicopters * 1986 ** The Night Vale Elementary School bans computers, following The Event.Episode 34 A Beautiful Dream * 1993 ** During Poetry Week, an unchecked librarian population results in the loss of many innocent and screaming book lovers. * ca. 1997 ** Night Vale stops corresponding with their Nulogorsk pen pals, as they can no longer discuss about contemporary developments in Michel Jackson's career.Episode 40 The Deft Bowman 21st century * 2011 ** Spring: Desert Bluffs completes its new sports arena.Cecil says it was completed "last spring" on 1 September 2012.Episode 6 The Drawbridge * 2012 ** The dog park's inauguration. No one, except the hooded figures, is to enter the dog park.Episode 1 Pilot ** Carlos and his team of scientists arrive to Night Vale. ** The Glow Cloud first passes through Night Vale.Episode 2 Glow Cloud Later in the year, it becomes a member of the school board of Night Vale Elementary School, while its child begins education at the school.Episode 8 The Lights in Radon Canyon * 2013 ** Night Vale legalizes time travel.Episode 18 The Traveler ** During Poetry Week, the dog park opens, trapping Intern Dana inside. ** Mayor Pamela Winchell announces her resignation before the end of 2013 for the first time. She continues to announce her resignation throughout the year.Episode 24 The Mayor ** One year after the dog park's inauguration, Carlos is wounded and saved by the Apache Tracker, who dies in process.Episode 25 One Year Later ** The Night Vale Subway System opens, and not before long, closes. Petitions are made to re-open it.Episode 29 Subway ** StrexCorp Synernists Incorporated buys Night Vale Community Radio. * 2014 ** John Peters (You know, the farmer?) - or, rather, his duplicate - begins and then ends selling orange juice that makes people disappear.Episode 38 Orange Grove ** StrexCorp Synernists Incorporated takes complete ownership of all residences and businesses in Night Vale, renaming it the "Greater Desert Bluffs Metropolitan Area."Episode 47 Company Picnic ** Night Vale unites as one, and with help of the angels and the masked warriors, is able to overthrow StrexCorp's takeover.Episode 49 Old Oak Doors Part B ** The Mayoral Election of 2014 is held. ** Ground is broken on the new Old Night Vale Opera House. ** Dana Cardinal is inaugurated as mayor. * 2015 ** Hiram McDaniels and the Faceless Old Woman attempt a Mayoral Coup. ** The grand opening of the new Old Night Vale Opera House is marred somewhat by another attempt on Mayor Cardinal's life. ** Hiram McDaniels is arrested and four of his heads are charged with attempted murder. ** The Dog Park opens to dogs for the first time.Episode 74 Civic Changes ** Desert Bluffs Economic Collapse begins. ** Sam takes over as Sheriff of Night Vale. * 2016 ** Desert Bluffs Economic Collapse ends, with the absorption of Desert Bluffs into Night Vale. * Before 2022 ** The position of Mayor of Night Vale will become vacant. * 2052 Various future events include: ** The "Scion of the Dark Order" will descend, realize he mistimed the prophecy, and re-ascend. ** The Seventh Siege of the Great Night Vale Temple will rage on. ** The "Plague of Buzzing Boils" will kill thousands and annoy thousands more with its buzzing. ** The City Council will reveal its true form and eat half of the population of time. ** Approval ratings for the Mayor will be around 40%, despite there having been no mayor for over thirty years. Precise date unknown * Decades ago, the lizard kings, impressed by the effort Americans put into their unsuccessful revolution, decide to let them have their own country. (still ruled by the reptilians)Episode 49 Old Oak Doors Part A * Within Kevin's adult lifetimeEpisode 73 Triptych, but before 2013: The Incident strikes Desert Bluffs. Before the Incident, the Desert Bluffs Cacti Marching Band had "crisp, clean uniforms"; afterwards, they did not. * Desert Bluffs is founded, and is unaware of Night Vale *StrexCorp takes over Desert Bluffs, with significant resistance from local radio host Kevin. References Category:Night Vale history